Ain’t it grand that the birthplace of craft brewing – the West Coast – doesn’t rest on its laurels of hop bines but remains vibrant, audacious, and most importantly, delicious? Considering that 90 percent of America’s hop crop is harvested in Washington’s Yakima Valley and Oregon’s Willamette Valley it’s no wonder some of the most fragrant and delectable IPAs are brewed here.

But on tap and on shelves, Cascadia region brewers look to their fields, their spice racks, and even on occasion to their butchers (grilled beef hearts, roasted ducks, and congealed pig blood have all been used as adjuncts) for gustatory inspiration and innovation.

Here are six breweries of the regions newest to seek out on the GABF floor:

Falling Sky[4] (Eugene, OR; booth N7)
This brewpub grew out for the homebrew shop owned by brewery co-founder Jason Carriere, Clerks-turned-head brewers Scott Sieber and Mike Zarkesh focus on sessionable beers in predominantly European styles, even if that means dusting off nearly extinct styles like a German Dinkelbier made with spelt. A beer program that doesn’t focus on IPAs is somewhat challenging. Add to that the tap list is ever-changing so it’s nearly impossible to have a flagship or house favorite beer, and you’ve got the makings for a brewery that is designed to keep patrons on their toes. But it’s so popular they opened a second location, perhaps the world’s first delicatessen brewpub, and the Juniper Rye pairs great with housemade pastrami on house baked rye.

Pfriem Family Brewers[5] (Hood River, OR; booth N31)
“Family” honors brewer Josh Pfriem’s family’s involvement from his wife who runs the show to their kids who inspired the family-friendly pub environs, but the company’s middle word also serves as alliteration to foster folks knowing the P is silent. Pfriem’s affinity for Belgian and Northwest beer styles result in favorites such as Blonde IPA, a bright, hoppy IPA made with local hops as well as Belgian Strong Blonde which, unlike the IPA, derives its fruit and spice flavors from the yeast strain. Situated on the Columbia River Gorge’s waterfront, this popular destination opened in 2012 and has already expanded the kitchen and the brewhouse and is adding a barrel room, further cementing Hood River as the Flanders of the Northwest.

Gigantic Brewing[6] (Portland, OR; booth N11)
Brewing veterans Ben Love (formerly of Hopworks) and Van Havig (ex-Rock Bottom) united to create a 15-barrel brewery with a tasting room adjoined with outdoor tables packed since opening last year. Their stated goal is to “only do two things: make the best damn IPA in Portland and produce seasonal, exciting, flavorful beers, most of which will be brewed only once. Yes, Gigantic only brews one year-round beer, a rather bombastic hop bomb, and after that you might get The City that Never Sleeps that melded a vigorous, toasty Imperial Schwarzbier with funky, earthy Saison, or more recently they released Hellion, a dry-hopped Belgian Golden where those hops were citrus-tastic Sorachi Ace and Simcoe for a decidedly un-Belgian twist.

Boneyard Brewing[7] (Bend, OR; booth J10)
RPM IPA must be the fastest growing brand in the Beaver state and they still cannot make it fast enough, such is the regional demand for this IPA. At “Brew 1” the name for the original 20-barrel brewhouse that remains in effect for the foreseeable future, they’ve crammed 18 fermentation tanks (some as big as 60 barrels each) in a space designed to hold, well, far fewer than that. That has left little tank space for their other brands that, trust me, are equally worth ordering. Yes, there’s the Double IPA Hop Venon and the Triple IPA Notorious, but their dark beers such as Black 15, Backbone Chocolate-espresso stout and up to the corpulent Shug Knite Imperial Stout prove that they’re no one-hop pony

No-Li Brewhouse[8] (Spokane, WA; booth N26)
Residents of Washington’s Inland Empire know that Northern Lights Brewing is not new, having been established in 1993, but last year thanks to a trademark kerfuffle they rebranded as No-Li Brewhouse[9] (to help with the truncated name, they market their product as “fib free ales”) and it has certainly wrought new vitality to the company. Having tripled their production to 4,500 barrels of “Spokane-style beer,” a federally-recognized appellation for ales made with regionally grown hops and malted barley and pristine water, check out their Crystal Bitter which won gold in the ESB category at last year’s GABF

Reuben’s Brews[10] (Seattle, WA; booth N33)
One of the most brewery-happy neighborhoods in the Emerald City is Ballard, which is where this year-old brewery set up its brewery and tasting room much to the delight of, well, just about everyone. Adam Robbings, who’s actually a native of London, turned his homebrew hobby (triggered by a gift from his baby boy, Reuben) into a family business. Though he brews IPAs aplenty, its his wealth of rye beers that make their mark. Building on a base of rye IPAs and other Rye Pale Ales, there’s now a Roasted Rye Pale Ale that’s a chocolate-rye IPA and since we’re deep into pumpkin season, Pfeiffer’s Pumpkin Rye.

Wild cards from elsewhere …

Laughing Sun Brewing[11] (Bismarck, ND; Brewpub Pavillion #21)
Let’s face it. You’re probably not going to visit Laughing Sun or do a beer trip to North Dakota since it’s the fiftieth-most visited state in the union so this is your only chance to try a North Dakota beer. Though all of the state’s five breweries opened in 2012, co-founder Mike Frohlich brewed professionally at Rattlesnake Creek Brewery, a defunct brewpub up in Dickinson back in the ‘90s before ND’s nearly 20-year-dry spell. Some of the beers coming off Frohlich’s 3.5-barrel system include Feast Like a Sultan IPA, Hammerhead Red ESB, and, depending on the season, Sinister Pear Belgian Golden Strong Ale or Black “Eye” PA among others.

DESTIHL [12](Bloomington, IL; booth D12)
One of the most buzzed about breweries on the floor once again will be DESTIHL Brewery[13], which this year moved into a big, new production brewery in Bloomington since the original nanobrewery in Normal, Ill., couldn’t meet demand. Yes, their “regular” beers are excellent, but it’s the St. Dekkera Reserve series of sour ales that has tongues wagging, not to mention other wood-aged beers such as Cerise, a Belgian-style imperial stout aged on sour cherries, makes this one of the long line-worthy booths on the festival floor.